Sylvester Heereman

Sylvester Heereman van Zuydtwyck, LC (born 10 September 1974) is the former Vicar General of the Legion of Christ and currently serves on its council.

Family

Heereman was born in Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Bavaria, on 10 September 1974. Heereman comes from the Dutch aristocratic Heereman of Zuydtwyck family. He is one of six children from the marriage of Johannes Freiherr Heereman, President of Malteser International, and the theologian, author, and journalist, Michaela zu Guttenberg.

Life in the Legion

In 1994 Heereman entered the Legion's novitiate in Germany. He was ordained on 23 December 2006. From 2007-11 he was the territorial director of Germany, and then Northern and Central Europe.^[1]

Vicar General of the Legion and Regnum Christi

On 16 February 2012 Heereman was named to his new post of Vicar General by Cardinal Velasio de Paolis. The Vicar General is second in command after the General Director. He had replaced Father Luis Garza, who resigned to become territorial director of North America, and he was named after consulting the members of the Legion of Christ.^[1][2]

As of 15 October 2012, Heereman assumed the responsibility for running the Legion until the convocation of a General Chapter, as the former General Director, Álvaro Corcuera, was on sabbatical for health reasons. In two letters, dated 9-10 October, both Álvaro and Cardinal Velasio De Paolis (the Legion's Papal delegate) announced the sabbatical.^[3][4][5]

References

1. "New Vicar General and General Councilor". Regnum Christi. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
2. "New top officials named for Legion of Christ". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
3. "GENERAL DIRECTOR OF LEGION OF CHRIST TO GO ON SABBATICAL". ZENIT News Agency. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
4. "letter of Fr Álvaro regarding his sabbatical" (PDF). Regnum Christi. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
5. "letter of Cardinal Velasio De Paolis regarding Fr Álvaro's sabbatical" (PDF). Regnum Christi. Retrieved 14 October 2012.